When twelve magical superpowers are unleashed on the world, a Chinese-America teenager named Steven will be thrown into the middle of an epic global chase. He'll have to master strange powers, outrun super-powered mercenaries, and unlock the mysterious powers of the Zodiac.

I received this book for free from the source listed above in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book was completely new to me until I was lucky enough to have it show up in my mailbox. I was immediately intrigued upon reading the jacket cover, and the promise of a plot based off the twelve Chinese Zodiac signs wasn’t a bad sell either!

Although it is marketed as Middle Grade, I think this series has crossover appeal and can interest a much wider audience. This is especially true for me because I tend to be picky with my MG reads as I prefer Young Adult, but THE ZODIAC LEGACY really impressed me.

.It tells a great story with friendship and teamwork at its heart, and revolves around a subject I think most of us have heard of and can’t help but be at least a little interested in: the Chinese Zodiac. This is where our heroes (and heroines), as well as the villains, gain their powers. It’s a really fun concept, even if you didn’t have knowledge of the twelve animals before this.

With such a huge cast of characters, I was worried that it might get confusing but this wasn’t the case, I was able to follow and connect with each one of them. Although a little more character development with the minor characters would have been nice, none of them were one-dimensional, they all had unique personalities and most of them had a lot of depth.

Another huge positive: there was some seriously great pacing. There was action almost right from the start to the end, and I couldn’t put it down-so I didn’t. I finished it in less than a day, which says something as this is a pretty sizable read.

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This book also has some illustrated pages, and the art really adds to the experience. It’s in almost a comic book style, which is fitting, and it’s just extremely well done overall. You can see some of the art on the official Zodiac Legacy website from Disney.

THE ZODIAC LEGACY also has a clear ending, there could have been a huge cliffhanger but everything wraps up well. I do like how this story could pretty much stand on its own. There were some epilogue chapters that revealed things that made me really wish for the second book though! This is a series I will be following.

I always look for a story that can stand on its own. I’m not a huge fan of ‘to be continued . . .’ endings. It just makes me feel bitter LOL.

And WOOO for great pacing! That’s my favourite thing. So many books go slow in all the wrong places and too fast in other places and it’s a mess. This sounds brilliantly done :DAllie @ Little Birdie recently posted…Review: Snow Like Ashes {Sara Raasch}

Aha, I know what you mean. Sometimes I’ll drop series too (for no real reason) and hate having those “What happened next?” questions looming over my shoulder. This one has a definite setup for the next book but I was content with how it ended. It was a really fun, fast paced read :)Alise recently posted…How to Start a Book Blog in 5 Easy Steps

I didn’t have to read a single word of your review before adding this to my TBR. Just the name Stan Lee does it lol he is a wonderful storyteller, in many formats it seems! I’m glad you enjoyed this one (and brought its existence to my attention!)Wattle recently posted…Book Review: Just Pru by Anne Pfeffer

New to me too! I don’t mind MG, but it has to have something that interests me, and it sounds like it would. To do with Chinese Zodiac signs? Yup. More about friendship and teamwork? Yup. And yay, a large cast that all have their own personalities so you can tell them apart (that’s my bigger problem when they’re a lot of main characters and secondary characters) A nice surprise! :)Kirsty-Marie recently posted…Review: The Thousand Dollar Tan Line

I saw this book for the first time at the bookstore and was intrigued. I hadn’t really seen anyone say anything about it so I’m happy to see that it is a fairly enjoyable read! I’ll have to pick it up (probably from the library) soon!Brianna @Listful Booking recently posted…“The Scar Boys” Review

Stan Lee? Anything he puts his name to is kind of a big deal isn’t it. Well, at least Sheldon Cooper thinks so.

Apparently I’m a Ram (according to the website). I usually steer clear of multiple points of view, but this sounds just so engaging. I love middle grade, it’s such a nice change to get away from the horrid romance in some YA and will definitely be grabbing a copy when it’s out.

THe topic is interesting, I don’t think I’ve read something like that so I confess that I’m intrigued. It’s great that you weren’t confused by that many characters because it’s usually my problem too. thanks for the discovery!Melliane recently posted…Soulbound by Kristen Callihan

I’ve seen this book around lately but yours is the first review I’ve read for it and, well, you’ve made me want to read it :D I love the idea of chinese astrology meshed in with a good, quality MG read!! Especially when you consider the stellar pacing here^^ I can’t wait to check this one out, thanks for the lovely review Alise!Micheline @ Lunar Rainbows Reviews recently posted…Review: Grave Mercy

I’m picky with my MG reads too, but this one sounds interesting. I like that it has good pacing and solid character development. I haven’t heard about it until now so thanks for the recommendation, Alise :)A Canadian Girl recently posted…Review: The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand

Rachel

Ooh, have you read the Eon/Eona series? It is sort of similar and the main character is an awesome and non-gender conforming warrior/magic girl. Plus I think it is a YA. Sorry, it just occurred to me out of nowhere.

I am going to be reading this one soon and it’s so reassuring to see your positive review! I didn’t see a lot of reviews in general for this book so I am going to have yours in mind when I dive into this one! :D

I just hope I end up enjoying it as much as you did, Alise! :D Especially since all I want is a good book that involves zodiac signs. Is that too much to ask for??!?! :PRashika recently posted…ARC Review: A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas